–Chief Justice Nisar rejects former Malir SSP’s plea, says Anwar’s passport should be confiscated
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by suspended Sindh Police officer Rao Anwar seeking removal of his name from the Exit Control List (ECL).
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, heard the petition seeking removal of Anwar’s name from the no-fly list so that he could travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.
In his petition, Rao Anwar had said that he wanted “to travel abroad to perform Umrah and to meet his children”. He had requested the apex court to direct the trial court to “regulate his movement abroad after removing his name from the ECL, contending that placing an accused on the ECL and curtaining their liberty was beyond the requirement of reasonable restrictions”.
He further stated that registering a case against the accused was not a valid reason for placing their name on the ECL, as “freedom of movement was a fundamental right”.
Rejecting the petition, CJP Nisar further directed the authorities to confiscate Anwar’s passport.
“Rao Anwar is talking about travelling abroad. His passport should be confiscated. Tell his family to come here and meet him,” the top judge remarked to the former cop’s counsel.
“He must want to transfer money abroad that he earned here,” the chief justice observed.
Earlier, Rao Anwar who was declared a prime suspect in the murder case of 27-year-old Naqeebullah Mehsud from South Waziristan had approached the apex court in December seeking removal of his name from the ECL.
Anwar along with 11 of his subordinates is facing trial before an anti-terrorism court for allegedly killing Mehsud and three others in an alleged staged encounter on January 13, 2018, in Malir.
Moreover, another case was registered against Anwar for possession of explosives and illegal weapons.
